Dark Matter
by Snoe
Summary: Tamsin is an officer on the Coalition space ship Leviathan, having spent ten years running from her past and Bo, the only girl she ever loved. When a vicious enemy threatens the Coalition, and Bo's life, can the two work together despite their volatile history to save the galaxy? Valkubus
1. The Second Coming

****Title: **Dark Matter**

Rating: **M**

Pairing: **Valkubus**

Summary: Tamsin is an officer on the Coalition space ship Leviathan, having spent ten years running from her past and Bo, the only girl she ever loved. When a vicious enemy threatens the Coalition, and Bo's life, can the two work together despite their volatile history to save the galaxy?

This is going to be incredibly AU, and incredibly long. I've been wanting to write a sci-fi story and this pairing just seemed to fit. There won't be any fae stuff or really anything supernatural...just sic-fi, aliens, and plenty of hate-flirting. I'm not sure if this is even of interest to anyone, but let me know how you feel...I can promise you it will be quite involved and definitely Valkubus.

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**Chapter 1 – The Second Coming**

Lieutenant Tamsin Asgard sat in the sole chair in her quarters, a morose look on her face. She spent her days as Executive Officer of the Coalition ship _Leviathan_ dealing with petty problems, people's poor moods and paperwork and did not have the patience to continue 'handling problems' once off duty. Her communications terminal, however, saw it differently and continued to blink a message at her that told her someone was awaiting her call. Perhaps her terminal was merely excited someone was trying to contact her; Tamsin was sure it felt neglected considering her lack of friends and acquaintances. Which made this all the more annoying, and worrying she admitted silently.

She had not spoken to him in over two years. She'd felt once they'd been close friends, but his betrayal ultimately had ruined everything. Everything that mattered at any rate. Tamsin did not want to speak with him, but the curious part in her wondered, and the rational side of her knew he would not contact her if it was not important. With a sigh of defeat she tapped the screen and waited as the terminal attempted to contact him. Tamsin half hoped he would not answer, but after a long wait his face popped up on her screen. The connection was bad, but she could see the look in his eyes and his strange surroundings. She sat up straighter, though her face gave nothing away.

"Ryan Lambert. I'd say it was a pleasure, but I'd be lying," she said, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice.

He'd always been an egotistical, arrogant sort of person, but to Tamsin's surprise he did not acknowledge her rudeness. She noticed he seemed to be in a tent of some sort. "Tamsin…-ey came…you hav-…bring Co-…quick…"

She frowned and leaned closer. She knew her ship's communications were fine, which meant the disturbance was coming from his side. The colony of Silver's Crossing, where he lived, and where she'd grown up, was fairly well supplied and connected. The connection shouldn't have been this bad. "Ryan, you're breaking up. Say again."

It looked as if he was moving, probably using a portable terminal, and finally stopped to try again. "The D'Jajas…came…-ree days ag-…Tamsin, you have to co-…"

The shock that raced through her did not show on her face – she'd been in the military too long to give away her emotions. She'd known from the moment his message had popped up on her terminal it was something bad, but she had not expected this. It couldn't be, she tried to reason, it was impossible, but she knew the panic on his face, his location in a makeshift shelter, were no hoax. It would even explain the bad connection. Tamsin shook her head. "Ryan, Silver's Crossing is out of their zone of operation. They've never invaded Coalition space before."

The picture turned to static for a brief moment and back to his face. His eyes were dull and lifeless, as if he'd turned off all emotions. "Well, now…have…you…come...we need...she needs your help."

Tamsin's left eye twitched imperceptibly at his last words and she leaned forward to turn off the terminal. She'd have to think this over, before she made any kind of decision. If the D'Jajas had truly invaded Coalition space and attacked a human colony, the Leviathan, as a Coalition ship, was required to assist. Then there was the huge report the Coalition Assembly would surely want detailing the attack and the D'Jajas threat.

Tamsin thought about the last time she had seen a planet after such an attack. It had been two years since, but the images would not leave her. She remembered death, destruction and a whole battalion of infantry D'Jaja soldiers that had practically decimated the Coalition troops. The Battle of Linvale Ridge might go down in Coalition history books as a militaristic success, but to Tamsin it would forever remain the place of her nightmares. The mere thought of her home world similarly affected made her nauseous. She'd seen what the D'Jaja did to colonists.

She had not been to Silver's Crossing in nearly ten years and she'd had no plans to return anytime soon. Her mother had begged her to visit, but Tamsin had steadfastly refused, creating lie after lie to stay away. She just didn't think she could bear to return to the one place she had ever been truly happy and to the greatest regret of her life. Because the Tamsin Asgard now sitting deep in thought in the XO quarters of a Coalition vessel was not the same one who had made grand plans for her future as a wife.

Tamsin exhaled deeply, trying to expel the tension inside her to no avail. She grabbed her uniform jacket from the back of the chair and pulled it back on. There was no reason to wait informing the commander and the Coalition. She left her quarters to return to the Bridge. Tamsin knew she was not going to get any sleep, regardless, not when images of her face kept forcing their way into her mind.

#

"Ensign, send an urgent message to Fleet Headquarters. We've received a distress call from a Coalition colony, claiming they have been attacked by D'Jaja forces and need emergency assistance. Planet 59378, Human Colony Silver's Crossing. We will proceed immediately and await further instruction."

Tamsin wasted no time giving commands once she was on the bridge and the young man she had been talking to nodded curtly and went to send the message. She looked around at the crew and sighed heavily. The bridge was minimally manned during the night hours, but she spent a good amount of time there even when she was supposed to be off duty. She moved to the star chart off to the side, looking at the electronic display critically. Another young officer sat at a console next to the chart and Tamsin looked at the woman intensely. They were all young, she realized; save a few officers and grunts, the whole crew looked like they'd just entered High School.

"Lt., please chart a course to Planet 59378, warp speed."

She watched the woman type furiously on the console before her. The young lieutenant looked up at her, somewhat apprehensively. "Travel time is one day, thirteen hours. Should I notify the Commander of our change in plans?"

Tamsin frowned. The Leviathan was a research ship primarily and their plans normally involved carting scientists and medical personnel between planets, and transporting troops or equipment. She didn't think that was more important than rescuing colonists from certain death, but Tamsin had forgotten how little combat experience most of the crew on this ship had. They were probably terrified to go into any area the D'Jaja had been.

"Is the Commander asleep?" Most of the regular crew of the Leviathan were familiar with Commander Brentwood's drinking problem and had developed code for when they talked about it. Though a few people had tried initially, it was hard to remove an old war hero like Brentwood from command, and the crew had adapted accordingly. They ignored his brutish, drunk, belligerent behavior, while Tamsin practically ran the ship.

"Yes, sir. He went to his quarters some time ago," said the lieutenant knowingly and Tamsin nodded.

She looked at the multiple clocks set high above the bridge, each displaying a different time. Some displayed local times for various Coalition planets and cities, while the most important one showed the current space time, an arbitrary time set by the Coalition to keep its troops in a normal rhythm even during space travel. It was late, or early, and Tamsin yawned.

"Notify him when he returns to the bridge. I'm going to my quarters, don't wake me unless it's urgent. You're in charge, Lt."

Tamsin left without another word and reluctantly returned to her quarters. She was dead tired, but a strange anxiety had settled over her ever since Ryan's call. She'd been on plenty of battlefields, and felt terror and excitement, but this was completely different. Was she anxious because of what she might find on her home after the attack? Or was it simpler than that? Was she merely afraid of seeing the girl who still held her heart?

Grunting, the blonde pushed all thoughts of the girl she'd lost from her mind and entered her quarters. She didn't bother taking off her uniform as she crashed onto her bed and was asleep within seconds.

#

Tamsin watched the large screen on the bridge with hardly an emotion on her face, arms crossed. Planet 59378 was coming into view and, with it, the colony she had been trying so hard to avoid for years. Her communications officer was trying to establish a connection to the colony and she watched him anxiously. He was a Kerida, a race of small statured, large headed, four-armed people, who were known for their excellent science skills and high intelligence. There were no Coalition ships without the Kerida, who held most of the engineering, research and medical positions in the Coalition.

"Lt., we have a connection," the Kerida said, giving her that look of barely contained disgust most of his race seemed to harbor for everyone else.

She nodded and waited for him to indicate she could talk. "Silver's crossing, this is the CFS Leviathan. We are bringing emergency supplies and medical aid. Requesting permission to land."

There was nothing but static for a few moments and Tamsin worried briefly they were too late, when a voice crackled over the speakers. "Thank god you're here, Leviathan. You are cleared to land."

Tamsin nodded curtly and motioned at the pilot to begin the approach. He was another Kerida, though the blonde had always felt the more mixed a crew was, the better they did. Kerida kept the ships, weapons and soldiers going, while the large, lizard-like Taril supplied most of the foot soldiers and humans, after their induction into the Coalition, filled in the gaps. There were a few other races with personnel in the fleet, but they were the minority. Humans, Kerida and Taril held most of the positions in the military, as well as a majority of the seats on the Assembly.

Humans had only discovered faster-than-light capabilities about 200 years ago, but had quickly made contact with other races in the galaxy. The Taril and Kerida, along with some other races, had already formed a sort of alliance, but it wasn't until the humans came along that a galactic coalition was formed. Their militaries joined together and each member race held seats on the main governing body, the Coalition Assembly. The Coalition of Alien Races, or COAR in short, was the most powerful force in the entire galaxy and there had been no major wars in over a hundred years. Until the D'Jaja.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Tamsin turned just in time to see the two Taril sentries by the entryway snap to attention and an older man cautiously make his way onto the bridge. The blonde suppressed a sigh and instead called out across the bridge. "Commander on deck!"

The entire crew jumped to attention, Tamsin included, and the Commander merely grunted something that sounded like 'at ease', before stopping right in front of his XO. The rest of the crew went back to their tasks, but Tamsin remained standing.

"Mind explaining to me why we are in approach to some backwater planet, Lt.?"

Brentwood smelled of booze, though it was only 1500 hours and his uniform was crumpled and unwashed. Tamsin tried to keep her face neutral, but it was getting harder and harder. "Sir, we have been instructed by Coalition Force command to aid and assist the colony of Silver's Crossing and investigate their claims of a D'Jaja attack."

The Commander narrowed his eyes. Tamsin noticed they were a dull gray, just like everything else about him. "A D'Jaja attack in Coalition space? Who thought up that load of bullshit? This is a hoax; we're turning around."

"Sir, our orders came straight from Admiral Ellis. Would you like me to get him on a comm. channel for you, sir?" Tamsin asked, tone neutral, but internally she was using all her willpower to keep herself from saying what she really thought. Regardless of the cause, there were injured and starving colonists on that planet. Her family, her friends, her ex...well, some of them she'd rather not think about.

Brentwood shook his head, clearly aware that some of the brass was catching on to his lackluster leadership as of late. He waved his hand, telling them to continue. Tamsin turned back to the view screen, watching her former home come into view. One of the techs at a console off to the side spoke up.

"Sir, there's a small problem."

Tamsin turned to him. "What is it, Petty Officer?"

"The colony's docking station has been destroyed, sir. We cannot land the Leviathan."

"Alright, we will take the shuttles to the surface. Notify First, Second and Third squad, Search and Rescue and the medical teams. Take-off is in 15 minutes, Hangar Bay 3," said Tamsin, only remembering her commanding officer was there as well after she had given her orders. But Brentwood seemed unconcerned and she turned to him. "Sir, I'd like to lead the shore party if that's alright."

He looked at her blankly for a few moments, perhaps trying to figure out whether she had some ulterior motive, before nodding. Tamsin moved towards the exit and rushed to her quarters to change from the dress uniform that was commonly worn on the bridge, into a more practical camouflaged combat uniform. She'd been a simple foot soldier before becoming an officer and some of the old excitement and anxiety common before battle flooded her as she pulled on her gear. Tamsin hoped there would be no battle today, but nevertheless strapped her handgun to her hip, before making her way to Hangar Bay 3 to meet up with the marines and medical teams. One could never be too careful, especially not when the D'Jaja were involved. D'Jaja or angry exes, Tamsin thought grudgingly as she took the elevator down to the hangar deck.

_to be continued_


	2. Home Sweet Home

Thank you to the five of you who took the time to review and let me know what you think of this so far. I appreciate any and all input! I know some of you might not be into the sci-fi or AU aspect, but I promise this will be a good story regardless. The first few chapters are really just set-up, but I swear it's going to start picking up and there'll be plenty of Valkubus.

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**Chapter 2 – Home Sweet Home**

The place was a veritable wasteland, complete with hollowed out ruins and heaps of broken concrete and metal. The colony had once been a sprawling community of quaint rows of houses, some farms and stores, a school, a clinic and City Hall, all centered around the main operation of the silver mine in the mountains to the East. There was hardly anything left of her former home, but the West side of the colony, where the docking bays and power plant had been, were hardest hit.

Tamsin watched while the teams of Marines cleared some open space and the medical teams began setting up temporary clinics and living quarters. There were a surprising amount of colonists who had come to greet them and Tamsin took reassurance in the fact that the D'Jaja seemed to have been unable to complete their usual routine. She had never seen a planet after a D'Jaja attack that was not littered with the corpses of every man, woman and child of that colony.

"Tamsin Asgard."

The blonde turned at the voice, her soldier mask firm in place. The man extended his hand to her and she shook it. "Governor Branson."

He smiled brightly at her, though she could tell he was still shaken up. She did not blame him. "It's a pleasure to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

She inclined her head, wishing she wasn't here at all. She'd been back on the planet for only a few hours, but already the memories of years past haunted her. "Governor, do you mind explaining to me what happened? We were told it was the D'Jaja, but I don't see their usual pattern here."

Governor Branson motioned for her to walk with him. "They were definitely D'Jaja, I'm sure of it. The colony had some air defense systems that seemed to take them by surprise and we managed to ward off the worst of it. As you can see, the damage is still beyond belief. You can't imagine the relief we felt when we saw the Coalition was here."

"We'll be able to set you up with temporary shelters, as well as food and medical supplies. My teams are working to treat and recover survivors as we speak. We'll try to get a list of all casualties by day's end. I've got some engineers trying to restore power, as well."

He stopped walking suddenly, a pained look crossing his face. "There are several hundred dead, from what we've been able to tell, but…some D'Jaja broke through and…they took prisoners. We're not sure how many."

Tamsin clenched her jaw, her mind feverishly working to block the images of the D'Jaja slave ships she'd seen. They often took those they didn't kill during an attack and used them for physical work, creating conditions so horrendous it was a miracle some of the prisoners even survived the trip. The governor, clearly able to read her discomfort, shook his head warily, but continued walking.

"I know you're busy, Tamsin, but you should say 'hello' to your mother. I know she'd be thrilled."

A palpable sense of relief washed over her and the blonde was surprised at the emotion. She hadn't consciously admitted it, but she'd been worried her family had been killed, or worse, taken. She nodded absentmindedly, having no intention of actually visiting. It was enough knowing her family was okay; she couldn't risk actually going there and running into certain people. Their families had always been close and she doubted it had changed much over the years.

"Yeah, perhaps I'll get a chance to stop by later."

As if reading her thoughts, the governor nodded towards some of the tents the colonists had set up after the attack. "Why don't I just walk you over there right now? They could really use some good news, after…"

He trailed off at the end, glancing at her cautiously. Tamsin wanted to ask what he meant, but a renewed sense of worry and anxiety had settled over her. Something was wrong, something other than the destruction of their livelihoods and homes and Tamsin tried to steel herself as she followed him towards the tents.

#

The lighting was poor as she entered the tent, dust clearly visible in the air from the few light rays poking through. The flap fell shut behind her and too late Tamsin realized the governor had not followed her inside. She considered leaving, but figured he was probably keeping guard outside. Apprehensively, she advanced into the tent.

It was a military style tent that normally would be lined with cots along the sides, but this had been set up with a little more privacy for the families assigned to it. Linen and curtains divided the tent into multiple sections and she slowly moved towards the far left corner. She could hear someone sobbing, a baby crying, and someone with a hacking cough and shuddered. A woman pushed past her, carrying an armful of clothes. Tamsin stopped at the last curtain, hesitant.

She wanted to walk away. Whatever awaited her behind that curtain was going to be painful and hard and uncomfortable and Tamsin wanted to avoid it at all costs. But she knew she could not put it off forever. After several minutes of stalling, the blonde took a deep breath and pushed the curtain aside.

The first thing that struck her was the smell of incense and her eyes immediately fell to the form of her mother, on her knees in front of what looked like a makeshift altar, head bowed in silent prayer. Tamsin frowned and stepped inside. The area was just big enough for three cots, pushed against the wall, the half-broken hutch serving as the altar and a wobbly table and two chairs, seating two grim looking men. They looked up as she entered and the blonde woman, noticing her presence, stood as soon as she saw her.

"Tamsin! It's a goddamn miracle!" Acacia was on her feet and embracing her daughter before the girl could react.

"Not a miracle, mother. I'm here on official business," said Tamsin, suddenly feeling foolish.

Acacia pulled away, giving Tamsin a once over. She was smiling and there was actual fondness in her eyes and Tamsin suddenly felt guilty for not coming to visit sooner. "You're a sight for sore eyes after all this shit. Nate, look, Tamsin is home."

Tamsin turned to her brother, who hadn't moved from his chair. Their eyes met and after a few moments, he stood, as well, and came over. They hugged awkwardly, though not without affection. He, too, seemed genuinely happy to see her.

"You said the Coalition sent you?" he asked, trying to mask his emotions by talking business.

More than happy to oblige him, Tamsin nodded. "Yeah, they were very concerned when they heard."

Nate nodded, walking back to his chair. "Good. Good. We needed some Marines to get things back in order around here after…"

Tamsin hadn't missed how the governor and now both her mother and brother seemed to be shying away from something and she was growing suspicious. Add to that the three cots in the area, when it should have just been two, and she was getting worried. She turned her gaze to the older man sitting at the table, trying to steel herself for what would surely be a most uncomfortable conversation. He met her eyes and stood at last, though made no motion to move towards her.

Tamsin wondered whether she would have to make the first move and though she was a battle-hardened soldier, everyone's intense stares were making her nervous.

"Trick, it's good to see you again." She saw no reason not to be polite, despite the fact that his last words to her had been anything but. She knew she had deserved them, then.

"Tamsin," he said, but his voice sounded cold. He finally stepped closer and Tamsin was surprised to see how old and worn his face looked. He was much shorter than her, though his presence had always carried enough weight to command respect. "The prodigal daughter returns."

Trick had always been like a father to her and to hear the coldness of his voice was still somewhat painful. She had never intended to disrespect him through her actions; hell, she had never fully thought through her actions in the first place. Nate Asgard stepped up to his longtime mentor, holding up a hand in a placating gesture.

"Come on, Trick, let's just…take a deep breath."

"Don't, Nate. You have no idea what it's like." Trick sounded beyond angry, anguished maybe, and Tamsin swallowed hard. Yes, something was definitely wrong.

"You're right, but blowing up at Tamsin won't solve anything. Just try to calm down," said Nate forcefully, though there was compassion in his voice.

Trick scoffed and shook his head. "How am I supposed to calm down when my wife is dead and my granddaughter…"

He trailed off at the end, tears filling his eyes. Dread pooled in Tamsin's stomach and she turned to her mom, whose eyes were downcast. "Mom, what happened?"

Acacia shook her head sadly. "Isabeau died during the attack and Bo..."

Before the older woman could finish, Trick pointed a finger at Tamsin, a fiery anger in his eyes she had never seen there before. "You were supposed to protect her!"

"What?" Tamsin's head was spinning, a myriad of emotions bombarding her. She might have been a tough soldier, but this had taken her by surprise. Isabeau McCorrigan had been one of the nicest, kindest, loving people she had known and Tamsin couldn't bear the thought of the woman having died.

"If you had married my granddaughter like you were supposed to, the D'Jaja wouldn't have taken her!" said Trick, the anger and conviction in his voice startling Tamsin. She had never seen him so out of control; he had always been the calmest, most cool-headed person she knew.

"That's not fair, Trick, and you know it," said Nate, still trying to placate the older man. His own voice was beginning to show the strain of the situation.

"I know that I asked Tamsin to take care of Bo and now she's gone."

Tamsin hardly heard the men's argument. A persistent buzzing had taken over her head, clouding her thoughts and making her dizzy. She could not move, nor speak, nor blink her eyes and there were no thoughts being formulated in her head. She just stood, stock still, until gentle hands led her to one of the cots and forced her to sit down. Tamsin felt warm hands on her knees and blinked away some of the haze. She met her mother's clear, blue eyes, confused and stunned.

"Mom...is she," she couldn't even get the words out and suddenly her mouth felt like she had swallowed an entire desert.

Acacia grasped her daughter's hand with a sad smile. "Yes, hon, it's the truth. They took Bo. I'm sorry."

The buzzing rose again and Tamsin took a deep, shaky breath. Bo McCorrigan had been her first love and would forever be her only love, she knew that with a deep conviction. And though her heart had been ripped out nearly ten years prior, she had never expected an anguish so overwhelming, so complete, to ever befall her. Bo was gone and Tamsin would have to live with this raw, gaping hole inside her for the rest of her life. Her vision blurred and she suddenly realized she was crying, for the first time in ten years.

_to be continued_


	3. Diplomacy

Thanks to all my reviewers; I'm glad at least a few of you are interested! I promise it won't be long before the Valkubus reunion that I know you're all waiting for. I'm not sure yet on flashbacks, I haven't managed to fit them in so far, but if there is interest I might find a way. I'm always open for suggestions ;)

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**Chapter 3 - Diplomacy**

2 weeks later

"Come on, Tamsin, you've been all emo for weeks. It's kind of a drag."

She barely glanced at the girl, eyes on the bowl of slop in front of her. Tamsin dropped her spoon into the gooey mess, disgusted, with herself and the food. She'd run through hundreds of scenarios over the past two weeks, ones where she'd done what had been asked of her and married Bo, or where she'd come back home after her first tour, or where Ryan had never contacted her. She had not been able to shake Bo from her mind and it was wearing her down.

"You don't understand, Kenzi," she said morosely, pushing the bowl away.

"I understand that you've been pining over a dead girl," said Kenzi, but upon seeing the murderous look in Tamsin's eyes, raised her hands. "Look, I know it's harsh, but it's the truth. If the D'Jaja took her, she is already dead, whether now or in a few months. Even if she survived the trip, the virus would..."

Tamsin reached across the table swiftly and grabbed the front of Kenzi's uniform top. The feisty girl might have been one of her only friends, but she was way out of line. "Leave. It. Alone."

Kenzi merely stared at Tamsin wide-eyed for several moments, not used to seeing her friend so out of control. Tamsin was a bitch and she was harsh, but she usually took Kenzi's teasing with nothing more than an eye roll and snappy comeback. Kenzi was a soldier, too, but she was just an engineer who fixed things; she'd stand no chance against Tamsin. Tamsin scoffed and sat back down. She pulled her bowl back towards her and took a few more bites of the slop, grimacing each time. Kenzi knew their conversation was over and stayed silent.

"Damn, how much longer will we have to eat this crap?"

Kenzi almost sighed in relief when Tamsin spoke. She shrugged. "We're nearly out of supplies. Didn't you say were heading to Rakike for re-supply? Two weeks of patrolling the border is enough for me."

Tamsin nodded absentmindedly. The Leviathan, after delivering emergency aid to Silver's Crossing, had been tasked with patrolling the borders of Coalition space for any D'Jaja sightings. It had been quiet for the first week, though they'd encountered some debris from what looked like a transport ship. In the past week, however, they'd fought D'Jaja scouts on three separate occasions. The crew of the Leviathan might have been green at first, but now they were battle-tested. They'd defeated two of the D'Jaja birds of prey, while a third had been damaged and fled. Border skirmishes hadn't been entirely uncommon over recent months, but coupled with the attack on Silver's Crossing, it was ominous.

"We should be there in a few days. Brentwood's been taking charge again; I think he's worried he'll be demoted as soon as we dock."

Despite it being confidential, the whole crew knew of Admiral Ellis' request to see Commander Brentwood upon their arrival and everyone hoped he was about to be fired. Even during the recent firefights they'd had to do without his instructions, and it was Tamsin and the rest of the crew on the bridge who'd steered the battle.

A voice crackled over the intercom, sounding eerily hollow in the near empty mess hall. "XO, report to the bridge. XO, report to the bridge."

Tamsin sighed and Kenzi gave her a sympathetic smile. She stood and stretched her tired muscles, before returning her bowl to the mess. Kenzi followed suit and together they walked towards the bridge.

#

"What is that, Kom?" Tamsin asked, leaning closer to the view screen, ignoring the disdainful look the Kerida PO was giving her.

"Sir, it looks to be a D'Jaja transport. Likely a slave ship judging by the markings on the side," he said, fingers furiously hacking away at the keyboard in front of him to assess the data.

Tamsin looked at him then back at the screen. An iron fist was clenching her gut, but she kept her composure. "It's dead?"

Kom nodded. "Dead in space. Looks to have been attacked, perhaps a few days ago. Engines are out, backup life-support is failing."

Tamsin stood, eyes grim as she surveyed the ship. For decades the D'Jaja had taken slaves, primarily from the outlying planets not part of the Coalition, but in recent years even from Coalition colonies outside of Coalition space. She had never seen one of their slave ships, but had been part of a squad that had liberated a D'Jaja slave camp on Trigerius Prime. Liberation had come in the form of a giant explosion, that had hopefully given the slaves the comfort of a quick, relatively painless death.

They'd been in the middle of a major battle, without the supplies to care for ill and injured slaves, but the images of Trigerius Prime still flashed in her mind on occasion. She knew those slaves would have suffered more: torture, starvation and a wasting sickness brought on by a virus that seemed to imbibe the D'Jaja with extra strength, but infected and killed most everyone else.

"Destroy the ship," she ordered quietly. There was nothing else they could really do.

"LT," one of the female officers alerted her and Tamsin looked at the woman, an eyebrow raised. "There are life signs on board."

Tamsin suppressed a sigh. Even if there were some slaves who had survived the D'Jaja, the ship blowing up and little life-support, it was more humane to just kill them now than to let them suffer for days or weeks. She knew few of the other officers on the bridge had ever seen someone dying from the Catalys virus.

"D'Jaja? Or someone else?"

"I-I'm not sure."

Tamsin walked over to the young Ensign. It was hard to believe these kids were running a battlecruiser with the little experience they had, but to them she must have seemed like an ancient, battle-hardened veteran. "Ensign, you better be damned sure it's not an enemy you're scanning, before you keep us from blowing something up!"

The woman fumbled with her console, clearly nervous now and Tamsin waited patiently for her to redo the scans. She didn't know when she had started sounding like an officer. She had joined the Fleet as a grunt, just wanting to get away from Silver's Crossing and get her hands dirty. During the infamous Battle of Redgrass almost their entire command structure had been wiped out and Tamsin had somehow found herself field-promoted to Ensign, with hardly a clue to what she was doing. It had been six years since then and she'd come a long way.

"Sir, no D'Jaja life signs on board. They appear to be human, Kerida, and several others."

The Ensign's voice brought her from her reverie and Tamsin sighed. She could hardly blow up a ship with multiple races on board; it would be a political disaster. Tamsin nodded, resigned. "Alright, I want Search and Rescue ready in five minutes. Keep a target lock on the ship. Lt. Cummings, if anything is off at all, you're cleared to fire. I'll be leading the rescue team."

"You, sir?" asked the Ensign, blushing as she realized she'd been questioning a superior.

But Tamsin merely nodded, determination in her eyes. "Yes, I've got some excess energy to burn."

She left the bridge for her quarters to change uniforms, and made her way quickly to the ready room for proper gear. All she could think about as she pulled the heavy armor-spacesuit combination on was how she wished to find just one living D'Jaja on the ship. Just one enemy soldier she could take all her anger out on, over everything they had taken from her.

#

"Sir, we're ready to board."

Tamsin nodded, but remembered he likely couldn't tell with the heavy suit she was wearing. Since the life-support systems were failing on the slave vessel and there was likely a heavy combination of virus and chemicals in the air inside, the whole team was wearing armored spacesuits. They were form-fitting suits, with heavy armor plating and integrated life support systems, but were surprisingly light considering.

"Proceed on my mark," she said, her voice filtering electronically through the comm. equipment inside their helmets. She grabbed her rifle, ensuring there were no safeties on and motioned with her hand. "Mark."

The first two Marines shoved aside the hull piece they'd been cutting through and rushed inside, while the rest of the team provided cover. The Search and Rescue, or SAR, team, consisted of fifteen highly trained Marines and their powerful weapons. They immediately swarmed inside the breached ship, fanning out to secure the area. Tamsin stepped inside the ship and an immediate unease settled over her.

The D'Jaja ships were entirely different from the Coalition's clean and airy ships. This D'Jaja slaver was dark, but large and wide to accommodate the huge aliens, with no windows and hallways that seemed to go on forever. Emergency lighting was flickering feebly and the team turned on the lights mounted on their rifles. Tamsin motioned at the Marines, telling them to split up as she turned to follow Alpha team along the corridor.

The ship seemed empty and was completely devoid of any indication anyone had ever been there. No files, no weapons, no armor and certainly no dead bodies. Tamsin had expected to see at least some, but so far there was nothing. They moved along the corridor, following the dots in their Heads-Up Display that indicated life forms. There were several open cabins and areas they scanned and secured, but once again there was no sign of the D'Jaja.

"Looks like they evacuated after the engines failed. Probably just left all the slaves to die."

Tamsin briefly glanced at Sgt. Frisk, but knew he was right. They advanced to the bow of the ship and went down the wide stairwells towards the bottom deck. They passed the engine room and immediately noticed the warped metal and scorch marks on the walls. They also found their first dead D'Jaja.

"The engines blew, probably caught this bastard off guard," Frisk said, kicking the body to make sure it was dead.

Tamsin looked down at the dead soldier, feeling nothing but anger. He was wearing heavy armor that went up to his neck, but it had not saved him from death. Shrapnel was imbedded in the side of his large head, drenching his feathers with a dark, green liquid. The D'Jaja's faces were narrow, with mouths that looked like beaks, but featured a multitude of razor-sharp teeth, and large eyes that sat too close together. They were by far the ugliest creatures in the galaxy.

The team cleared the engine room, finding nothing but several more dead D'Jajas, before moving towards the cargo bay. It was sectioned off into multiple holding areas, 25 on each side of the ship, each holding multiple slaves. The doors were locked, but Corporal Lonnig had them unlocked within just a few minutes. Bravo team notified them of their position just opposite, at the stern of the ship and the two teams began the hard task of sifting through what would likely be thousands of slaves to find survivors. Tamsin wished they'd just blown up the ship.

#

Tamsin was glad they were wearing full suits, for she knew the smell must have been horrible. They'd been trying to go through the holding compartments as swiftly as possible, but with all the live and dead slaves in such close proximity it was hard. The HUD was of little use and the lighting was nearly non-existent. They'd been moving through dead bodies for a good twenty minutes and she could tell the whole team was getting frustrated.

They'd found almost twenty survivors so far, mostly human and Kerida. Even in the early stage of the disease they were a horrific sight, hemorrhaging, delusional, and wasting away. They'd have to bring the survivors to the Leviathan, fill up the medical bay and use supplies they were already low on, just to try and prolong the inevitable. It wasn't that Tamsin felt no compassion, quite the contrary. She thought it was cruel to keep these people alive considering the horrific death they faced.

The teams were busy carrying the survivors back up to the shuttle, while a few of them stayed to clear the rest of the cells. Tamsin opened the next one, rifle held high just in case. Her light fell into the dank room, barely illuminating the array of bodies spread out inside of it. A Private followed her inside and together they searched the bodies for vital signs. Some of them seemed to have been dead for a long time.

"Sir, I found one," Private Jaffy called out and Tamsin turned to look without any real curiosity. The survivors were worse to look at than the dead; the dead, at least, had found peace from suffering. Jaffy was kneeling next to a half-dead looking Crockie. The Private tagged the man for transport and Tamsin moved back to the other side.

With some bodies she could easily tell they were dead, but others she had to observe for life signs more closely or even scan them. She moved past some bodies that had already started decaying. Pointing her light at the next body she nearly gasped. Tamsin dropped heavily to her knees.

The armor cushioned the blow to her knees, but it could not stop the painful wrenching of her chest. Tamsin wondered if she was imagining things, if her overtaxed mind was trying to deal with what she had learned on Silver's Crossing. She blinked and shook her head, but the face before her did not change. She had tried so hard to deal with the reality of things, but Tamsin had not expected this. It was a lot easier to remain in denial when she wasn't kneeling in some godforsaken D'Jaja slave ship staring down at the sickly face of the girl she loved.

"Bo," she breathed out, mesmerized, shocked and terrified all at the same time. She reached out tentatively and turned the girl onto her back, trying to be as gentle as possible. Despite the good amount of dirt and blood on the girl's face, there was no mistaking her.

Before she could even start a scan, Bo's eyes opened. Although she was looking directly at Tamsin, Bo's eyes stared through her unseeing. Tamsin felt a jolt of excitement shoot through her, which was followed just as quickly by apprehension and panic. Bo was alive, but for how much longer? Tamsin looked down into the warm brown eyes that seemed so empty and reached over to pull the girl away from the dead bodies surrounding her. Bo's head lolled to the side and her eyes shut half way. Her lips seemed to be moving, but Tamsin had to lean closer to even be able to hear what she was saying.

"Tamsin..."

Tamsin swallowed hard and gritted her teeth; she'd have to hold it together. She knew there was no way Bo could see her face through the helmet and the girl's words were nothing more than delirious ramblings, but it made her heart clench painfully nonetheless. Someone came up behind her, but she didn't avert her eyes.

"Sir, the ship is cleared. We're taking up the last survivors. Is she alive?" asked Jaffy, and though it was a valid question, Tamsin had to fight down a bout of anger.

"Barely," she said, exhaling heavily.

"I will get a stretcher," said the Private, already moving away, but Tamsin stopped him.

"I'll take her. Let's go."

Perhaps he could tell by the tone in her voice she was not to be questioned and remained silent. Tamsin handed him her rifle and tried to scoop Bo into her arms as gently as possible. She knew the armor she wore was likely very uncomfortable to rest against, but she refused to let anyone else near Bo. Tamsin stood easily with the girl in her arms; Bo weighed next to nothing. Private Jaffy followed her out of the cell and together they made their way back up the stairs and towards the waiting shuttle.

Tamsin tried to jostle the brunette as little as possible, but it was difficult and halfway there Bo seemed to pass out again, head falling to the side. Tamsin wanted to sprint towards the shuttle and from there straight to medical bay, but she knew she had to keep calm. The entire way back her mind was racing with questions and fears and worries, but also the renewed hope that could only come from having found someone she thought she had lost. One thing, however, stuck out starkly in Tamsin's head and no matter how hard she tried to push it aside, it wouldn't leave her. She had ordered the slave ship blown up. She had almost killed Bo.

_to be continued_


End file.
